The airline’s chief executive Shai Weiss has previously said there would be no return to Gatwick after Virgin quit the West Sussex airport during the pandemic and moved its operations to Heathrow.
However, speaking at the Airlines 2024 conference in London on Monday (25 November), Weiss gave strong indications the airline would like to go back to Gatwick where its joint venture partner Delta Air Lines continues to operate.
"Gatwick is our historic home," said Weiss. "It’s where our office is. We’d love to go back when the time is right, and the opportunity is right.” Asked if this could be in five years’ time, he replied: “Possibly, yes.”
One aim is to relocate Virgin’s operation at Heathrow from the 63-year-old Terminal 3. “Terminal 2 would be very nice,” said Weiss, adding the existing facility was “not a proper home for Virgin". "It is not fit for purpose."
Weiss also said the airline would bring its direct-sell tour operation to the virginatlantic.com website “next month”. “For the first time, we will have the holidays and flight business under one website,” he said.
Elsewhere, Weiss said the carrier must decide on the future of its Upper Class bar. The carrier’s founder Sir Richard Branson is in favour of keeping the signature feature, but there is thought to be pressure from Delta, which owns 49% of Virgin Atlantic, to dispense with it.
New aircraft deliveries have not been fitted with the bar, but instead have a social space. "We have 25 planes with a bar – I think the social space is an attempt to align ourselves to the times," said Weiss. "The big decision will be – do we keep the bar on the [smaller Boeing] 787s?”
Weiss admitted the carrier had “two too many” variations of its Upper Class cabin and said he wanted to standardise it across the fleet.
